In magnetic storage systems, a thin film transducer head includes a plurality of microelectronic components (e.g., a reader, a writer, one or more reader shields, and one or more return poles) deposited on a surface of a slider. The transducer head is mounted to a distal end of an actuator arm and is positioned over a surface of a spinning magnetic disc. A lift force is generated by an aerodynamic interaction between the slider and the spinning disc. The lift force is opposed by equal and opposite spring forces applied through the actuator arm such that a predetermined flying height is maintained over the surface of the spinning magnetic disc. The flying height is defined as the spacing between the surface of the spinning magnetic disc and the lowest point on the slider assembly (i.e., the contact pad).
One objective of the design of a transducer head is to obtain a very small flying height between the microelectronic components and the disc surface. By designing magnetic storage systems with a flying height close to the disc, shorter wavelength or higher frequency signals may be used to record data to the disc. Shorter wavelength or higher frequency recording signals allow for higher density and higher storage data recording capacity of the magnetic disc.
Ideally, the contact pad does not come in contact with the magnetic disc and thus there is no wear on the contact pad. Practically, however, during various phases of disc operation the contact pad contacts the highest asperities on the spinning magnetic disc. As flying height is decreased to improve disc performance, the frequency of the contact pad contacting the disc typically increases.